Saturday, May 29, 2004

"I [Muqtada al-Sadr] announce my agreement to the following plan: eliminating all armed manifestations, putting government buildings to use by the government offices and institutions, withdrawing all [Imam] Al-Mahdi Army fighters who are not citizens of Al-Najaf from this city."-- Iraqi national security adviser Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i reading out the English translation of a letter written by radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to the Shi'ite clerical hierarchy of the city of Al-Najaf.

Personally, I think it's better he's agreeing to do this for the Shi'ite clerical heirarchy in the city than for the Americans. It's a good sign that they don't support what he's doing. But will the ones who are citizens of Al-Najaf continue fighting in the city, and who will know who is a citizen and who is not?